The Portuguese Synagogue
Amsterdam, Holland
Must Know
The synagogue was established in 1675 and is still active today.
This was where the excommunication ban on the philosopher Uriel da Costa was lifted after he recanted from his attacks on rabbinic Judaism. It was removed during a ceremony in which he was lashed 39 times. At the end of the Sabbath prayers, he was forced to lie down at the threshold of the synagogue. The entire congregation then trampled on him as they exited the synagogue.
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